AI's already filtered through most of what we do. Just ask Siri. But soon enough, it'll also play a vital role in your child's education. Will it replace teachers in the classroom? Probably not. But it's important for us to understand its potential as well as its limitations.

Whether you believe in the power of AI or not, the truth is, it's already part of your day-to-day life. Just ask Siri. And soon enough, it'll play a vital role in your child's learning in the school classroom too.

But did you know that some companies are developing AI for use in schools, for example in forms such as AI tutoring systems? Such systems can engage students in dialogue and provide feedback in subjects where they need extra help.

As an educational technology researcher, I am interested in how educators apply technological advancements. My concern is improving and facilitating education by holistically combining educational philosophy, psychology, sociology and technology.

The rise of AI and “deep learning”

The first digital technology in the form of computers did not enter public schools in a mainstream way before the mid-1980s. Internet-based technology and online learning was becoming a concern for researchers studying educational technology in mid-to-late-2000s because computer and then internet use was becoming more prevalent in schools.

AI technologies are also a form of internet-based digital technology, but are more advanced: the computer scientist John McCarthy coined the phrase “Artificial Intelligence” to describe the science and engineering of enabling a computer system, software, program and robot to “think” intelligently like humans.

AI-based systems derive their knowledge firstly from the initial data, programs and algorithms provided by human programmers. Secondly, they “learn” through their own experiences and observations without being explicitly programmed.

This second source of knowledge is termed machine learning (ML), named by Arthur Samuel in 1959. ML works on different algorithms and a preferred one is called deep learning, which works on artificial neural networks (ANN) consisting of nodes and inter-linkages.

The word “deep” implies that the data has to pass through many layers of computations. The more data these machines based on deep learning receive, the better they perform.

Virtual assistants sometimes used today, like Amazon’s Alexa or Apple’s Siri, that are capable of oral interaction use deep learning. So do chatbots that respond to online customer requests.

AI for tutoring is possible because the technology is programmed to compare the information provided to it by the learner or user with the vast amount of preloaded datasets to find commonalities and patterns.

Or here’s a different example of AI at school: AI can be used to float “smarter” opponents in board games. For example, school chess clubs could use AI as a learning tool. AI programs have unseated some of the best global board game players, providing exalting moments to AI developers.